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Every 15 minutes

Know when a DocuSign envelope is opened or declined

I see when a recipient opens a contract and when someone declines it.

Runs
Every 15 minutes
Apps
DocuSign
AI
Not needed
Access
read

Send this to your assistant

Create a ClickRuntime automation: every 15 minutes, check DocuSign for envelopes that changed to delivered or declined and post each one to #contracts in Slack with the recipient and the decline reason if there is one.

Paste it into your assistant. It tells you what it will send or change before it runs live.

First time? Adding ClickRuntime to your assistant takes about two minutes.

Why use it

Why teams use this automation

When a customer opens a contract but does not sign, or declines it with a comment, the sender usually learns nothing until they check DocuSign. A declined envelope is a signal that the deal needs attention right away: a clause the customer dislikes, the wrong signer or a pricing objection. Left for two days, the reasons are forgotten and the deal goes cold. An opened but unsigned envelope is also a good moment for a friendly call.

Every 15 minutes the automation lists envelopes that changed, keeps those marked delivered or declined, and tells you which contract and which recipient. You find out about interest or an objection the same afternoon, while the customer is still thinking about it.

Sales reps, account executives and contract managers who follow up on every envelope get the most from it.

What you get out of it

  • Follow up while interest is warm

    Knowing a customer just opened the contract lets a rep send a short, well-timed message. A prompt reply at that moment often turns reading into signing, before the customer gets distracted by something else.

  • Objections handled quickly

    A decline shows up within minutes, so someone can ask what is wrong and offer a fix. Resolving it the same day keeps the deal from going cold and usually costs a single phone call.

  • Wrong-signer problems found early

    If an envelope is declined because it went to the wrong person, you can correct and resend it at once. That avoids days lost in a loop that nobody knew about until the quarter was nearly over.

  • Better insight into deal momentum

    A pattern of contracts opened but not signed tells managers where the process is leaking, such as pricing pages or terms that confuse customers. Those patterns are invisible when each envelope is checked alone.

  • No need to check each envelope

    Reps with many contracts out at once cannot watch each one. They get a short alert for the ones that need action and ignore the rest, which keeps attention on deals that are actually moving.

How it works

What happens, step by step

  1. Every 15 minutes, ClickRuntime checks DocuSign for envelopes that were opened or declined since its last check.

  2. For each one it collects the document name, the signers' emails and any reason given for declining.

  3. It posts to #contracts in Slack saying Delivered or Declined, with the document, the people involved and the reason if there is one.

Before it runs live

  • Connect DocuSign

What you get

RunsEvery 15 minutes
Know when a DocuSign envelope is opened or declinedtoday, 9:00Succeeded
Slack · #contractsDeclined: Acme order form Q4 (jo@acme.com) Reason: Pricing needs another review

Build your own

Need it to work differently?

This template is a starting point. Copy the prompt and change it, or describe a different automation from scratch, with your own conditions, more apps or an AI step. Your assistant writes it, tests it and runs it on ClickRuntime.
  • Your own rules

    Conditions, thresholds, filters and exceptions, written the way you'd explain them to a colleague.

  • Any number of apps

    One automation can read from one app and update several others. Over 248 apps are ready, and anything with an API works too.

  • AI where it helps

    Summaries, classification, extraction and drafts use ClickRuntime's built-in AI, with no extra key.

  • On a schedule or on each event

    Runs as often as every 5 minutes, or the moment an app sends an event, and keeps track of what it already handled.

Changes you can ask for

  • Act only on the items that match your own rules, and skip the rest
  • Add an AI step, for example to summarize, sort or draft a reply
  • Add another app, for example also send it to Slack
  • Combine it with other DocuSign steps into one automation

Under the hood

The code that runs this automation

This is the Python script that runs each time the automation starts. Your AI assistant writes it for you when you send the prompt, and you allow each step in your assistant. To change how the automation works, describe the change to your assistant and it updates the script for you. For every function it can use, see the script reference.
envelope_delivered_declined_alert.pyexample
from datetime import datetime, timezone
from clickruntime import on_trigger, state_initializer, credentials, notify, http, state, report_fetched

BASE = "https://na3.docusign.net/restapi/v2.1/accounts/YOUR_ACCOUNT_ID"

@state_initializer
def init():
    state.set("since", datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat())

@on_trigger
def run(event):
    now = datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat()
    resp = http.get(f"{BASE}/envelopes",
                    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {credentials.connection('docusign', 'work')}"},
                    params={"from_date": state.get("since"), "status": "delivered,declined", "include": "recipients"})
    resp.raise_for_status()
    envelopes = resp.json().get("envelopes") or []
    report_fetched(len(envelopes))
    if not envelopes:
        return {"posted": 0}
    for env in envelopes:
        signers = env.get("recipients", {}).get("signers", [])
        who = ", ".join(s["email"] for s in signers)
        reason = next((s["declinedReason"] for s in signers if s.get("declinedReason")), "")
        text = f"{env['status'].title()}: {env['emailSubject']} ({who})"
        notify.slack(text + (f"\nReason: {reason}" if reason else ""), channel="#contracts")
    state.set("since", now)
    return {"posted": len(envelopes)}

FAQ

Common questions

What is the difference between delivered and completed?
In DocuSign, delivered means the envelope reached the recipient and they have viewed it, while completed means all signatures are done. The automation reports delivered and declined statuses, so the alert tells you the contract was seen or refused.
Will I be told the reason for a decline?
DocuSign can record a reason that the signer enters, and the automation can include it when available. If the signer left no comment, the alert shows only that the envelope was declined and by whom.
Can I get these alerts only for high-value contracts?
If contract values or subject lines are consistent, it can be filtered, for example to envelopes whose name contains a keyword. Tell your AI assistant to restrict alerts to the ones you want to follow up personally.
What permissions does it need?
read. Nothing else in your accounts is used.
Does it need AI?
No. It runs without AI, so it doesn't use your plan's AI allowance.
How many runs does it use?
One run each time it checks. Checks that find nothing new and stop right away aren't counted.
Can I change how it works?
Yes. Describe the change to your AI assistant, for example a different schedule, channel or filter. It updates the automation, tests it and tells you what changed.

Set up “Know when a DocuSign envelope is opened or declined” from your assistant

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